Russia claims to have seized a large depot of US-made arms near the Georgian town of Senaki, as the US Secretary of State flies to Tiblisi for urgent talks to try to bring the conflict with Russia to an end.
Condoleezza Rice will press the Georgian president to sign the ceasefire deal brokered by French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Mikheil Saakashvili said he would need to “take a closer look” at the peace proposal before putting his signature to it.

He has accused Russia of a “deliberate policy of ethnic cleansing”.

America has warned that Russia is in danger of hurting relations between the two countries “for years to come”, following its military operation in Georgia.

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But US defence secretary Robert Gates added that he did not see any prospect for the use of American military force in Georgia.

Despite ongoing activity in Georgia, Russia insisted it was sticking to the initial ceasefire agreement.

Russian officials said they had started to hand back the town of Gori but demanded that patrols should remain outside South Ossetia to protect their peacekeepers across the border.